Just noticed earlier this week that half.com is shutting down later this year. Probably a good move for Ebay since I think they can make more money in the long run this way. Since there are no listing fees on half.com, I could list a book for six months and even after paying a 15% commission (which admittedly is high), it would cost about the same or less than it would to sell on Ebay.

Half will shut down on October 14, 2004. On this date, users will no longer be able to buy and sell on Half.com.

Top Court Rules People Must Give Police Their Names. I first read about the Hiibel case several months ago, and it inspired me to experiment with carrying no identification except for a health card (and work ID when necessary). Interestingly, this created a problem only once a few weeks ago when I was carded at a bar for a coworker's farewell celebration. "Whaddya mean you don't carry ID?!" I ended up getting in anyways.

Kennedy said the Nevada law was narrow and precise, requiring only that a suspect disclose his or her name. It does not require the suspect to produce a driver's license or any other document.

The rejection was the second in 18 months for United, which is based outside Chicago. In December 2002, the Air Transportation Stabilization Board rejected United's first request, for $1.8 billion in loan guarantees. That action sent the airline into bankruptcy.

Handing the government a stinging defeat, a jury acquitted a Saudi graduate student on Thursday of charges that he had used his computer expertise to help Muslim terrorists raise money and recruit followers.

"I hope the message is that the First Amendment is important and meaningful in this country," said David Nevin, a lawyer for the student, Sami Omar Al-Hussayen.

A New Paltz judge yesterday dismissed criminal charges against Mayor Jason West for performing a slew of gay marriages earlier this year, a decision the Ulster County district attorney said he would immediately appeal.